A Mile in her Shoes
by h1gher
Summary: It's the start of her Junior year and Quinn Fabray is ready to take back everything she lost last year. That is until a shocking announcement changes her life. Eventual Faberry Friendship
1. Revelation

AN: Hey Guys and Gals, I really hope you like my story.

As always R&R and enjoy

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Glee...but I wish that I did.

The day had started out like every other day, with Quinn being woken up by the sound of the alarm on the nightstand next to her. It was a sound she was usually accustomed to, since Sue had made them get up before the sun would rise every day when she was a part of the cheerios.

After shaking off the rust from her eyes she followed the same routine that she always did, starting with the morning jog. She felt that it always helped to wake her up, especially on days when she didn't want to. That was followed by a shower, quick breakfast and then it was off to school. Today was looking like it was going to be the typical boring day for the once head cheerleader of McKinley High, but little did she know that her life was about to change in a huge way.

As Quinn pulled into the parking lot for the first day of school she got a text message from Mercedes.**"Hey Q, Let's meet up before classes. Haven't seen**  
><strong>you all weekend"<strong>. Quinn sat there smiling because of the friendship she formed with the diva over the summer. If you would've told Quinn her best friend at the start of the school year would be  
>Mercedes and not Brittany or Santana, that person would've been ridiculed and then had to deal with slushie facial for the rest of the year. The blonde was<br>startled out of her thoughts by a familiar looking car driving past her. Was that...no it couldn't have been her mom's car. She shook her head, figuring  
>she was just anxious to start the day after the eventful summer that she had.<p>

After grabbing her bag, she headed inside to meet her new best friend.

Mercedes was at the door, with her arms crossed in diva like fashion, waiting for Quinn as she was walking up, "I saw you sitting out there, was wondering if you were scared to come in."

They had started to make their way down the hall as Quinn looked at her friend and replied in typical HBIC fashion "Me, Scared? Never! This is gonna be my year."

"Umm Excuse me, you mean this is gonna be OUR year as in the Glee club. I won't hesitate to shove you into a locker if the pre-pregnancy Quinn comes back."

Quinn just nudged her in the ribs, laughed a little bit and kept walking towards their lockers. You  
>could always hear the passion in Mercedes voice whenever she talked about something that she loved.<p>

"Excuse me, Quinn sorry to interrupt but can I have a word with you?"

Emma Pillsbury, the school's guidance counselor, was standing in front of the two  
>girls now with a expression on her face that made the blonde uneasy.<p>

"Sure," Quinn replied turning to her friend, " I'll see you in glee Mercedes."  
>With that the two friends parted and she followed the red head into the room next door.<p>

As she walked into the room she was surprised that several people were already  
>there, including Principal Figgins, Mr. Schuester and Judy Fabray (the person formally known as her mother in her eyes).<p>

"Mom, What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be at work."  
>Quinn already knew the answer to that question at least. She had been looking<br>for some jewelry the other night and found her mother's termination papers  
>from her job. She had felt betrayed that her mother wouldn't tell her something as life changing as that. After finding it, she canceled the planned girls night out with Mercedes and hadn't talked to anyone since then. Thinking about it more was causing her blood to boil inside.<p>

"I got laid off last month and I just haven't had the heart to tell you yet.  
>But it seems our financial problems have forced my hand." The older blonde<br>looked beat down from the situation but still managed to have a smile on her face, "the good news is that I have managed to find a new job and it comes with a house more suitable for income."

Quinn crossed her arms, staring disbelievingly at her mother, "You dragged me  
>in here for this? You easily could've told me at home, If you were ever there<br>and not spending time with that loser boyfriend of yours."

The anger in her voice made her mother flinch, but the woman didn't let that  
>stop her. Taking a deep breath, she kept her voice firm, looking her daughter<br>straight in the eye, "We're moving, Quinn. I don't care if you like it or not. I came here today to  
>finalize your transfer to a different school. I thought maybe you would be<br>happy that I finally got us on our feet again."

Quinn snorted and rolled her eyes at her mother's words, "The only thing I'm happy about is that you finally stopped drinking long enough to do something  
>useful." Her words had an edge to them that she had meant to use, and were followed by an exit that would've made Rachel Berry happy.<p>

Emma, finally sitting down at her desk, clears her throat and looks at Will "That didn't go as planned. Should we perhaps go talk to her some more" "No I think we should just let her be" Will replied caring more about his glee club being short a member more than anything.

Judy oblivious to the conversation, and clearly upset from the lack of respect shown by her daughter, broke down in front of the others. "I don't know what I did to make her so angry." Emma with a concerned look on her face handed her a Kleenex. Judy thanked her and continued with her rant "I know since Quinn had her baby I haven't been home as much but I'm going through a divorce as well and she's not exactly the easiest person to talk with.. In fact we haven't had a real conversation in quite a while. I'm sorry I don't mean to throw all of this on you guys. And I must look a mess now after all this blubbering"

The Glee club director sensing her needing someone, takes Judy's hand and sat next to her. "Miss Fabray.." In between her bouts of tears she corrected him "Please call me Judy," He smiled, squeezed her hand a bit and continued on with what he was saying, "Just give it time Judy. She will come around to the idea, plus we all love your daughter here so she's always welcome to come back and visit us whenever time allows." The older lady now feeling better released hands with the teacher before receiving a hug from him and thanking the adults for their help.


	2. Time of your Life

A/N: Hey Guys thanks for all the views on the first chapter. I was thinking of combining this chapter with the first but decided not against it at the end. Most of the Action starts next chapter so please stay tuned.

After running out the conference room where she was told that she would be moving away from the only school she has ever known, Quinn ended up sitting on the ground, her head in her arms, in the girls bathroom.

_What am I going to do? How can I get out of moving away?_ Her thought process was interrupted when a familiar figure appeared from one of the stalls. Rachel Berry had made her way out of the stall and was busy straightening her skirt and fixing her hair in the mirror when she realized that her "arch nemesis" was sitting in the corner and looked depressed.

"Quinn, are you alright?" Rachel asked the sitting girl. After some silence, the brunette kneeled down next to the blonde. Looking closer she could see that the girl had been crying.

"Quinn, Have you been crying?" The blonde finally picked up her head and replied in a weak voice "I'm fine, go away, Rachel."

With a shocked look on her face Rachael retorted, "Obviously you are not fine, for one you just called me by my first name and not one of the many nicknames you have given me."

By now Quinn was starting to get annoyed by her presence, but Rachael kept talking anyways, "You know Quinn, we aren't the best of friends, but we did spend some time together this summer so I thought..."

She was cut off by Quinn who stood up and pinned Rachael to the wall, "You thought what? Just because I saw you a couple of times over the summer that we would be buddies and have sleepovers and talk about the times that Finn cheated on us both? Well guess what, Rupaul, we're not! "

The brunette, clearly hurt by the last statement, ran out of the locker room without saying another word. Quinn knew Mercedes wouldn't be too happy about what just went down. While Rachel wasn't her best friend, Mercedes had taken a liking towards her and had tried on a few occasions over the summer to get her two best girl friends to like each other with little success.

The rest of the day for her was fairly uneventful, and in no time the bell rang, signalizing that it was time for the last period of the day. For Quinn that meant time to face her Glee classmates who would have no doubt heard the news. As Quinn warily made her way into the glee room she had noticed everyone was already in there and waiting for her. She never liked when people stared at her, but it made her even more uncomfortable to walk into a room and see twelve pairs of eyes staring right at her. Brittany saw her at the door and immediately ran over to greet her with a huge smile on her face and enveloped Quinn in a Huge bearhug.

"I can't breathe B" Quinn managed to get out

"Oh Sorry. Quinn we got a seat saved over there for you, right next to S and me. " she said, pointing towards the other end of the room .

"No thanks, I think I'll sit alone today."

Brittany not accepting the answer grabbed Quinn's arm with a surprisingly tight grip and pulled her to the seats she was saving next to Santana.

"Hey, Tubbers, heard you're moving?"

The fact that Santana was still using that nickname for her made Quinn ball her fists, "I haven't heard from you all weekend and you ignored me all day. I had to learn that my best friend was moving from Jewfro. What's going on?" Quinn was already having a rough day with the news that she was moving and the argument with Rachael earlier so this conversation with her wasn't exactly something she could handle. Her fists tightened and she had a look on her face like she was about to tear into Santana, but was stopped when Mr. Schuester , minutes late of course, took his place at the front of the class.

"Alright guy's, who's ready for the new year?"

Before he could continue Finn got up and stood next to him. "I'm sorry Mr. Schue, but there's a song us glee kids would like to sing before we do anything else today."

The teacher then took his seat among the kids and gave Finn the thumbs up to continue. The rest of the class minus Quinn, who had no idea what was going on, then joined Finn at the front of the class as Puck started speaking.

"Baby Mama, we heard you were moving and today is your last day here so we wanted to do something for you."

Rachael followed, and Quinn could still see the hurt in her eyes from earlier, "Despite the many problems you seem to have with me, I want you to know that I will miss you and the talent that you bring to this group."

It was Mercedes' turn to talk now as she stood in front of her friend, "Girlfriend, I think I speak for the whole group when I say that it won't be the same without you here."

"Quinn, we put together a song for you." Britney said, smiling brightly. Quinn felt her lips curve into a small smile. She listen closely as she heard the music start, Finn stepping forward

_Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road__  
><em>_Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go.__  
><em>_So make the best of this test, and don't ask why__  
><em>_It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time_.

Finn finished and Puck and Santana stepped forward.

_It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.__  
><em>_I hope you had the time of your life.__  
><em>_So take the photographs, and still frames in your mind__  
><em>_Hang it on a shelf in good health and good time_

As they stepped back, Artie and Rachael took their place.

_Tattoos of memories and dead skin on trial__  
><em>_For what it's worth it was worth all the while_

Kurt stepped forward, flashing her a huge smile.

_It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.__  
><em>_I hope you had the time of your life._

Mercedes was next grabbing her hand before she started.

_It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.__  
><em>_I hope you had the time of your life._

They all stepped forward and sung together,

_It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.__  
><em>_I hope you had the time of your life._

Quinn felt the tears roll down her cheeks as they finished. She smiled, stood up and hugged them. "Thank you." She whispered, wiping the tears from her eyes.

She looked at the teacher who was now standing in front of the group. "Quinn, You're always welcome to stop in whenever you want." Mr Schue said and everyone else nodded. Quinn smiled, wiping her tears knowing that she would miss this place.

A/N #2 Remember if you want Speedy Updates than please leave…REVIEWS. Seriously though, not just me, but most writers on this site will put out a story, and it will get 2,000 hits, but 5 reviews. How long does a review usually take, 3 minutes tops? Support the authors please. The reviews, seem like something that don't matter at all, But trust me they can mean a great deal to the writers. I'm not one to beg for reviews, it also helps us to know what I'm doing right and wrong.


	3. New School, New Rival

**A/N: I had a Member (Who will remain nameless) PM me to complain about the story. I love criticism as it helps you get better, Her only words were that my story was too unrealistic and that I should stop writing it because it was awful. Well you cant please everybody. :) Just thought i would share the funny story with ya. Hope you like this chapter.**

Quinn Fabray was scared. This was a feeling she had never experienced, not even while she was pregnant and being ridiculed at McKinley high for being in the Glee Club. She had been sitting in the parking lot of Carmel High for what seemed like ages now. She took a quick glance in her pocket mirror for the fifth time in mere minutes to make sure she looked good before finally opening the door and stepping out onto the pavement which she would be calling her new home.

"C'mon Quinn, you can do this. Just like every other day." She thought trying to hype herself up. She felt a wave of sickness come over her and bent over away from her car to vomit. She had made herself so nervous that she had been puking all night instead of sleeping and it seemed as if she was starting the cycle all over again.

"Get it together Quinn, I'm better than this." She pulled a Kleenex out of her pocket and wiped her mouth clean before inserting a mint and heading inside the school.

Once inside she was surprised to see the halls were clear of kids, chatter, and all the other things you associate with the modern day high school. She knew she was early; She had wanted to make sure she knew where everything was, but she didn't think she would be walking into a ghost town. As she was continued down the hall, inspecting the school as if it were a crime scene on C.S.I., she heard music coming from the auditorium directly in front of her.

She stood at the door of the large room and listened in awe to Vocal Adrenaline, New Direction's competition and the team that had beat them at Last year's regional's. As she turned around to leave a familiar voice from her past called out to her.

"Quinn Fabray, heard you were coming here, but I didn't want to believe it."

She turned around to see a leggy, attractive brunette jump off stage and start walking towards her.

"I haven't seen you in ages, and I kind of was hoping to keep it that way." The girl was standing in front of Quinn now with two other females flanking her sides, looking a lot different than the last time they had seen each other.

Her name was Katie Rodgers. They had gone to middle school with each other and had been close friends until Quinn forced her parents to remove her from school. She couldn't help but smile as she went back to that day.

_She had invited Katie to a sleepover at her house along with Brittany and Santana. This was something they had done on a weekly basis for the past year as they were all close friends, but today was different. Quinn had found out earlier in the day that not only had Katie made a move to oust Quinn from the captaincy and top spot of the pyramid, but she had also made out with Quinn's boyfriend in an apparent attempt to steal him away from her and become new HBIC. When Quinn found out about all this, she quickly came up with a devious plan that would be put into motion, starting with the girls night at her house. After dinner and a couple movies, the girl decided to call it a night._

"Here's your glass of water," Quinn smiled, handing Katie a glass of water. She knew that Katie always drank water before bed, and had dissolved some sleeping pills in her drink beforehand.

"Thanks Quinn, have I ever told you that you are my best friend," Katie said sweetly.

"Might wanna re-think that phrase when you wake up" Quinn thought.

Once Katie was fast asleep, all three of the girls had a role in the job. Brittany, who laughed through most of hers, was tasked with the job of writing derogatory words on Katie's face and body with the bright red lipstick that Katie had stolen from the mall a few days before. Santana had the pleasure as she called it of helping Quinn shave the girl bald. Then all three of them transported her in the early hours of the day to the school and left her in the middle of the parking lot, wearing nothing but her underwear, with a note that said "Revenge is great". When her parents had tried to sue the school, Santana took the fall to save Quinn and Brittany and got suspended for a week. That was the last time she had seen Katie until now.

Quinn caught up in her memories, suddenly found her bearings. "Katie, glad to hear all your hair grew back."

Katie snickered a bit and then whispered as she put her attention back on the blonde, "Is that how you treat your best friend? I mean don't I deserve a hug or something?" Her voice dripped with sarcasm as she continued, "Listen, you're new at this school so I'm gonna give you some advice. If you want to survive here then you should back off. I'm in charge now." Katie sneered, now standing inches from Quinn.

"One last thing before I go, Quinnie" she said mockingly, using the name that Quinn's parents had used for her when she was younger, "I heard something interesting over the summer. You miss queen of the celibacy club had a baby."

The statement made Quinn stiffen, and if looks could kill, Katie and the other two girls would be dead ten times over.

"So what happened to the bastard? My guess is you threw her away because she didn't match you Cheerios outfit...Oh wait you got kicked off for being a pregnant whore. Word travels fast in these small towns ."

"Excuse me?" Quinn snarls, but Katie barely blinks.

"Noah Puckerman? Really Q, he's the Biggest Manwhore of them all. But then again You sluts gotta stick together."

Quinn couldn't hold back anymore and in a rage of anger pulled her hand back and slapped the girl so hard she felt as if she broke her wrist. Katie was stunned at the development and was rubbing the side of her face while the two girls behind her quickly got in front to prevent any further fighting between the two, "You'll live to regret that, Fabray," Katie growled in a tone that sounded a lot like herself.

"What's going on in here? what happened to you face?" Dustin Goolsby, The new coach of their glee club after Shelby had taken time off to look after her new daughter, had walked in from behind Quinn.

"Nothing Coach D, We were just talking to the new girl," Katie answered, casting a disgusted look in Quinn's direction.

"Good, go get out of those outfits and get ready for school".

After they had walked off the director turned to Quinn and his face went from caring to anger, "I saw what you did back there and I know who you are. You are not welcome in this glee club if you're gonna act like that towards the ladies in my group".

Quinn turned around and was walking away from him when she replied, "I wasn't going to ask to be in Vocal Adrenaline anyways, I would never betray my friends like that no matter how much I miss singing."

The director scoffed at the notion of someone choosing the team that finished 3rd at last year's regional's instead of his team. Quinn ignored him and headed down the hall with a half smile on her face, thinking about her friends at the other school.

Her first day had been a disaster, starting off with the fight in the auditorium the day had only gotten worse from there. Katie worked fast as Quinn found herself sitting alone at lunch for the first time in forever, and it only continued when Katie "accidentally" spilled a can of paint all over Quinn's clothes. Her only saving grace there was that it was the last period of the day and she had more clothes in her car.

When she finished the short trek she gasped at what she saw. All four of the tires on her semi-new 2008 Honda Accord had been slashed with a note written on her windshield that said "Revenge is great," an obvious sign that Katie or someone influenced by her had been behind this. After standing there for about 5 minutes wondering who to call she sent texts to both Santana and puck.

**Hey Need a lift home, can you help-Q **

**I Gots to get my Mack on. Bother someone else-S**

After Receiving no reply from Puck. She flipped open her phone. "Am I really thinking about this?" She scrolled past multiple numbers in her phone book before finally finding the one she was looking for. "I'm gonna regret this somehow." The name she had stopped on was labeled "Man hands ". She hit the call button and waited for a response

A female voice answered and seemed to be surprised by the call "Hello Quinn"

There was a no answer on the other end so the girl spoke again "Quinn, As you may or may not know I have an important schedule to keep and hate being tardy so if I may inquire as to why you are calling me?"

She was silent for a second before answering the girls question, "I don't know, it was a mistake. I shouldn't have called, I'm sorry. " The wall that Quinn had lifted only momentarily had gone back into place.

"Wait Quinn, you don't sound like yourself. Is everything okay?" Rachel always knew when something with the blonde was off. It was like a natural six sense she had acquired over the years from watching the Blonde.

"I just need a ride home. That's all" The blonde replied in a defeated tone, "I texted puck and Santana and they are both busy and I Don't know why I called you….Just forget about it".

"No, Quinn Don't Worry about it. I'll tell my dad's that I'll be late getting home because I'm helping a friend. I'll be there in a few minutes, Carmel High right?" Before Quinn could object Rachel had hung up and she was left standing there in the parking lot, alone and confused waiting for her "enemy".

**A/N Remember if you want Speedy Updates than please leave…REVIEWS. The reviews, seem like something that don't matter at all, But trust me they can mean a great deal to the writers. I'm not one to beg for reviews, it also helps me to know what I'm doing right and wrong. There are possible Storyline incentives if people review. just saying. Thanks For Reading**


	4. Slushie

**A/N: Work is kicking my butt this week, Hence the delayed Update but here is the next chapter. I Hope you all like it as much as I do. Thanks for reading.**

For Quinn the ride home took forever, or at least that how it seemed. Despite only living 5 miles from her new high school she felt as if she could watch the entire series of Buffy, a guilty pleasure of hers, during the trip home. The fact that it was Rachel driving made it even more awkward because they hadn't talked alone since their argument at McKinley. Rachel at last pulled into the long driveway of the new complex that Quinn was staying in and looked towards the blonde.

"Quinn, you haven't said a word. Are you sure everything is ok?" The blonde was staring aimlessly out the window. "I would still like to know what happened to your clothes in the backseat. What is that all over them?" The brunette couldn't help asking questions even though she wouldn't get an answer. If she knew one thing about Quinn Fabray, it was that she was a rock when it came to showing feelings.

"Rach, I really can't handle all the questions right now. Thanks for the ride and I'm sorry to bother you." Quinn said in a hurried, weakened voice, but before she could open the door Rachel hit the lock buttons so that the door wouldn't open.

"I know we aren't good friends but I can always tell when something is wrong with people. So please let me help you Quinn."

"Treasure Trail, If you don't unlock this door right now I swear I will bounce your face off that steering wheel so hard that it will leave an imprint." Quinn immediately felt horrible after saying it but knew it was the only way she could stop the brunette from asking questions. Rachel, almost in tears, hit the unlock button and watched as Quinn stepped out and started briskly walking towards the new property without looking back to see her speed off into the darkening night.

Quinn had made it through the last half of the week without getting harassed by Katie, mostly because her torturer didn't bother to come to school. She was especially glad on her way out of school today though because it was Friday and she was on the phone with Mercedes making plans for this weekend which she was eagerly awaiting.

"I can't wait to see you and tell you all about the week I've had," Quinn said, as she maneuvered through the hallways.

"Well then momma, Come over after school and we'll go to Breadstix and talk about our week. And hurry, I miss you. McKinley isn't quite the same without you." The blonde hung up the phone and was feeling good until she walked out the wide front doors of the school and found Katie waiting outside for her with a devilish smile .

"Really? School's over for the week and now you're gonna show up?" Quinn felt a knot build in her stomach she didn't know what it was about Katie that made her feel weak and stupid. No girl ever pushed around Quinn Fabray, even when she was pregnant she still fought back against people to an extent. Maybe it was the guilt from the horrible thing that she and her friends had done to Katie. She pushed the thought out of her mind, put on her tough face and walked towards the waiting entourage of people.

"Can I help you ladies?" Quinn had her eyes locked on Katie the whole time.

"Blondie, I'm not here to do anything to you so stop looking at me like that." Quinn didn't release her gaze on the girl "I just came to give you a present. Something I know you're gonna love." Quinn wanted to smack the smirk off Katie's face but didn't want to risk an attack by the two much larger girls that were standing in front of her.

"Whatever you have I don't want," Quinn replied and then proceeded to keep walking to the car she had borrowed, as she called it, from her mother.

"I think you're gonna love this. It'll remind you of your old school and life. Plus it something you practically created so I think we will have to start doing it here at Carmel."

"Something I created? Make me feel at home?" Quinn wasn't exactly sure what the girl was talking about, but she had a tingling feeling that it wasn't going to be good.

"Look at it this way, Quinn. Once again you have helped me to change the way I think and I'm gonna thank you by giving you a gift. Now close your eyes."

"Katie, I don't want your gift. But if you insist on bothering me I'll give you one and I'll make sure it stays a good bit longer than it did last time." she smiled, referring to the scar on Katie's face where Quinn's ring had cut her when she got slapped.

Katie laughed it off and then looked at the two girls who at that moment had stepped out of the way and revealed that Katie was holding a "Big Quench" cup filled with the all too familiar slushie. The ex-cheerio lost all train of thought when she saw the cups and began discreetly looking for an escape route in case they were thrown on her.

"Hold her" Katie instructed the twins. Both instantly darted into motion, and before Quinn had a chance to react, they had grabbed her arms and were clinching them at her side to insure she didn't budge.

"Why must you fight me? I don't want trouble, but like usual, Quinn, you don't get it. This is my school."

Katie was inching closer to her with every word. "What you did to me was bad and very wrong," Katie now standing face to face with the blonde who had a look of trepidation on her face, "but instead of getting over it which obviously I have never done…" she snickered and then Quinn was met with a shower of icy, sticky liquid as she still struggled to get out, "I'm getting revenge and I'm gonna pay you back tenfold for what you did to me. So get ready."

The girl walked away looking like she just scored a personal victory. The twins released Quinn after Katie had vanished and had made their way back inside the school as the blonde made her way into her car surprised at Katie's actions. When she lifted her head she realized the twins were headed her way again.

"We're sorry about what happened. Katie does kinda own the school though so we have to do what she says or else."

The second one handed Quinn a towel and continued where the first one left off, "Whatever you did to her must've been really bad. We've known her for years and have never seen her this fired up and passionate about something".

"Look, I'd love to stay and chat, but I need to get cleaned up," Quinn said quickly, clearly not interested in talking with the people responsible for the colorful shower she had encountered.

"We're just trying to help because we felt bad about it," The two girls pleaded.

"A little late for that now. Where were you when she Dumped the slushie on me? Did either of you try to stop her?"

Both girls looked at the ground not wanting to answer, "Didn't think so. I'm leaving!" Quinn entered her car shocked at the audacity of the two girls who were now walking away. She took the keys from her pocket and looked in the rear view at the grape color in her hair and shook her head. She then pulled out the parking lot towards her house thinking about all the stuff that had happened that week.

**A/N #2- Next Chapter you'll get to meet a possible Love interest for Quinn. So Stay Tuned.** **Don't Forget to review!**


	5. Good and Bad

**First off to the few who have alerted and reviewed this story. I am Eternally Grateful. You guys make my day :).  
><strong>

**Disclaimer: The Only Characters that I own are the ones that I created.**

Quinn Fabray, for the first time in her life, was at the bottom end of the social pyramid. As she sat in her last period math class listening to the professor drabble on and on, waiting for time to expire, she started thinking about her first month at Carmel High. The time had passed and she still had not made any friends as Katie, the Quinn Fabray to her Rachael Berry, turned most of the school against her. The teachers weren't much better as they seem to be oblivious to anything that was happening in the school. Quinn shrugged most of it off and just dealt with it internally, choosing not to let anyone in on how bad it was for her here. She hadn't yet told anyone at McKinley about what was happening but was hoping she could talk Mercedes into having a girl's night with just the two of them so that she could get her advice on the situation.

"Quinn, how would you solve that problem?"

Quinn snapped out of her trance soon after the teacher said her name, but she had no clue what they were even talking about today.

"ttttrrrrn" The bell rang and Quinn felt the pressure alleviate as the whole class hurried out the door.

"Saved by the bell, Miss Fabray. May I have a word before you rush out?"

She wanted nothing more than to say no and walk out the room and start her weekend, but she convinced herself not to and perhaps she would be in here long enough to avoid seeing Katie again.

"I'm sorry I wasn't all here today, I just had a long night. Not much sleep with all the homework I had," she apologized, giving the teacher her best I'm sorry face and hoping he wouldn't catch on to her lie.

"Quinn, the quality of your work over the past week has been faltering, Is the work difficult for you? Are you having trouble focusing? Or is it something else that's bothering you?" Professor Moore finally sat down, took off his glasses and proceeded to wipe them clean all the while giving Quinn a stern look waiting for her response.

"Well it's difficult and takes me forever to do it, hence the late nights," Quinn lied, hoping it would get Professor Moore off her back and let her leave. She was a genius when it came to math but her troubles were interfering with her studies.

"Well if that's the case then go to this room when we are done and meet the young man in there. His name is Cameron Ross and he is excellent at math among other things and tutors students who need help in the subject."

Moore scribbled #306 on the note pad on his desk, and tore the page out and handed it to Quinn, "Now I must warn you that I will check to make sure you went and if I receive a bad report from him than I shall take disciplinary action against you. That is all, you may leave now."

Quinn scoffed at the thought of being stuck at this forsaken school for even longer, but knew she didn't want to cause any more trouble for herself, so she picked up the rest of her stuff and reluctantly made her way out of the room and down the now deserted halls of Carmel High.

She solemnly walked down the hallway headed for the tutoring class she didn't really need, once again lost in her head when all of a sudden she ran into something that knocked her on her butt and caused her to drop the few books she was carrying. She regained her composure quickly and looked up to see a lean guy who was about 6'0 with long black hair, wearing a leather jacket and jeans, bend down and help pick up the books she had dropped.

"Wow I'm such a klutz, I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" The boy had a look of concern on his face, hoping she was okay.

"No I'm fine, it was my fault anyways. I wasn't really paying attention." Quinn was surprised that he was being nice to her.

"Where are you headed? I'll walk you there," the boy offered.

"Room 306, I'm supposed to meet someone named Cameron there. Apparently he's going to tutor me. Not like I really need it though." Quinn's dislike of the idea seeped through her voice.

The boy started grinning from ear to ear after he heard the name, "Well you don't have to wait till we get to 306 to meet him as he's standing right next to you. You must be Quinn Fabray. Professor Moore told me to be on the lookout for you."

Cameron took her hand and helped the blonde off the floor, she immediately pulled her hand back after she was up still a bit confused about the whole thing. As they were walking to their destination Quinn was still curious as why he was being so nice and before she could say anything he interjected, "I know what you're thinking and frankly I don't care what anyone else thinks plus I practically bull-rushed you in the hallway there," he laughed.

Cameron then stopped them at a door labeled Employees Only with the number 306 underneath it. He pulled keys out of his pocket and proceeded to unlock the door.

"You got keys to the building?" Quinn was surprised they let a student have those.

"No.."he chuckled, "only to this door. I use it for tutoring a lot so they let me have a key so I wouldn't have to get an official every time I had a session. Plus when no one is around I to tend to practice my singing."

Quinn was shocked at the revelation "You sing?" she asked with more sarcasm than she intended.

"Shall we begin?" Cameron completely ignored the question she just asked and boldly grabbed Quinn's hand and with no objections from her they passed into the room and closed the door. Unbeknownst to both of them Katie, who had tried relentlessly for years to get Cameron to date her, was standing at the top of the hall watching as they entered the room hand in hand and fuming at Quinn once again, In her mind at least, stealing something away from her.

Quinn glanced at her watch and realized she had been sitting in this room with Cameron for nearly an hour and they have done more flirting than actual studying.

"As much as I would love to stay and chat and trust me I would because you are the first person to really sit down and talk to me since I got to this school, I have some things to do so would you tell Professor Moore that I was here?" Quinn had said all that without taking a breath.

"I can do that…" The blonde hurriedly got up, collected her things and headed for the door before he spoke again, "...under one condition" she stopped after hearing his words and turned around to face him

"And what is that?" she replied in a flirty tone."

"You let me take you out on a date," Cameron said practically shocking Quinn.

She replied, "Aren't you afraid that Katie will outcast you like she has done me?"

"I don't care about her, I just wanna kiss you." the tall guy replied.

Quinn blushed at his bluntness. He inched towards the blonde and looked deep in her eyes. He took her cheek in palm and gently pressed their lips together. The air was taken out of both of their lungs, but neither cared. It was like Quinn was soaring. This was the best first kiss she had ever had.

They broke away and Quinn spoke, "I really have to leave now but would love to do this again sometime."

She pulled a pen from her pocket and scribbled her number on Cam's hand before leaving the room with the biggest smile on her face.

Quinn had been thinking about Cameron and the kiss they shared the whole drive home. When she finally arrived at her house she was surprised at the amount of cars in the driveway. She parked her car on the side of the road by the mailbox and cautiously walked towards her house not knowing what to expect inside.

"Mom, who's here? And why there so many cars out front?" she shouted as she entered the house. After receiving no reply she went ahead and walked into the living room and was surprised to see her mother sitting in the room with multiple men, one of whom was awfully close to the older Fabray.

"Mom! What's going on in here? Who are these guys?"

After realizing her daughter was standing at the entrance of the room, Judy Fabray politely excused herself from her company and ushered her daughter into the hallway to talk. "Quinnie I don't appreciate you interrupting my meeting. It's very important that this go well and in order for that to happen you can't be here."

Quinn was taken aback by the last statement, "You're kicking me out…again?"

"No I'm not kicking you out, honey. Don't think of it that way. Think of it like the house is being fumigated or something like that." Quinn stared at her for a second before tightening her bottom lip in frustration"

Quinn's head snapped up when she realized what her mother said, "Judy, How am I supposed to take that? You just told me to leave the house I live in, for the second time…in less than a year."Quinn close to screaming now as the men in the living room had gotten up from their seats to see what all the commotion was about

"Lucy Quinn Fabray, don't get childish on me! You will respect me or you can leave out that front door and not come back. And trust me if you do that I won't come looking for you." The older Fabray knew she had messed up and said something she shouldn't but she kept a strict face.

"You know, I have taken a lot of crap from you over the past few months but after hearing what you just said, I would really love to slap you if I didn't think you would press charges."

"Quinn, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that," Judy apologized and took a step closer, but Quinn took a bigger one backwards, still holding the shocked expression on her face.

"Don't." She ordered, lifting her hand and raising a finger in protest. "Just... just stay there. I... I need to leave," she stuttered, taking another few steps backwards out the door and towards her car. Quinn shook her head, staring hard at the now tearing female who she once called her mother before she turned and entered her car. She pulled her phone out and immediately dialed Mercedes number.

"Hey Girl! What's happening?" The diva answered in a perky voice.

"I need a place to stay for a while," Quinn said in between tears.

"Sure anything for you momma, but I must warn you Rachel and Kurt are over here right now. We were planning on having a girl's night but I can cancel it if you like."

"No it's ok, I could use a girl's night right about now," the blonde started falling apart in tears. "I'll be there in fifteen minutes" She then proceeded to hang up. As soon as the phone call ended the headlights came on and the car peeled down the street with her mother still watching from the doorway.

**Review: They are much needed for me to understand what I'm doing right and wrong. I also like to know how you are feeling about the story and where you would like it to go.**


	6. Date Night

**First off,Once again thank you to all readers, Even the ones who don't review :). Secondly I have been an idiot not to thank Kagekamy. She has been such a enormous help to me while writing this story. I couldn't have done it without you. This is Personally my favorite chapter so far. I Hope you guys enjoy it.**

**Disclaimer: I only own those which i have created.**

By the time Quinn arrived at Mercedes' house, most of the tears from the initial shock of being kicked out again had dried. She could already feel the familiar numbing ache in her chest that meant she was shutting down and choosing to avoid the problem, something she had learned to do at a young age.

She got out of her car and made her way up the walkway of the Jones' house, the sounds of laughter and bits of music drifting towards her from a well lit room on the second floor. Seconds after she rang the doorbell, the door flung open and she was welcomed by Mercedes, who wrapped her up in a tight hug before practically dragging her into the house.

"Hey, Q," the girl greeted, her smile fading slightly at Quinn's red eyes, and the unmistakable tear tracks on her cheeks.

Quinn gave her a watery smile, and wiped her face to try to make it less obvious that she had been crying, "Thanks for letting me stay here for a bit."

"You know you're always welcome here," Mercedes assured her, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze, "come on, Kurt and Rachel are upstairs."

Quinn nodded and trailed behind the girl as she led her up the stairs. When they got to her room, she found Kurt sitting behind Rachel, listening idly to the diva chattering away while he french braided her hair. They both turned as the two girls entered, surprised to see Quinn behind Mercedes.

Rachel smiled hesitantly at her, but her eyes were guarded. It was clear she hadn't forgotten their last encounter, but nevertheless she looked just as concerned as Kurt and Mercedes.

"Quinn, what's wrong?" she asked, frowning as she too noticed that the blonde had been crying.

Quinn opened her mouth, the habitual 'nothing' already forming on her lips, but for some reason she couldn't bring herself to lie this time.

She felt the tears welling up in her eyes again, and she roughly wiped at her eyes before taking a seat on the floor next to the bed.

"I – " she looked up pleadingly at Mercedes, who seemed to understand immediately.

"Could you guys give us a second?" she asked Kurt and Rachel.

The pair nodded and got up from the bed, Rachel shooting Quinn a worried look before she closed the door behind her. Once they were gone, Mercedes turned her attention back to Quinn, and sat down on the floor beside her.

"Okay, girl, what's going on?"

"I'm miserable, Mercedes," Quinn choked out, laughing a little as she realized how true those words were.

"Why? Is everything okay with your mom?"

"Y-yeah. Well, no she practically kicked me out again just now, but that was just the last straw."

"She kicked you out?" Mercedes asked incredulously, her face contorting with anger at the actions of the older Fabray.

"Just temporarily. There were some guys over there for a meeting and she said she really needed it to go well or whatever," the blonde explained, "but that's not the only thing."

Quinn told her everything. She talked about her history with Katie, and all that had happened from the first day she had walked through Carmel's doors up until that very night. It was painful to relive all the torture Katie had put her through, but at the same time it was comforting to be sharing her ordeal with someone else. By the end of it, she was leaning on Mercedes' shoulder, feeling completely exhausted while the girl held her.

"So basically the girl is going psycho because you, Santana, and Brittany shaved her head and left her in the middle of the school parking lot?"

Quinn nodded, and Mercedes laughed, "That is messed up, Q."

Quinn raised her head, anger shining through her eyes, "It's not funny. She's made my life hell from the start, and now I'm the school outcast."

"Well that sounds familiar," Mercedes mused, looking meaningfully at Quinn who felt her stomach drop.

How had she not thought of this before? It was almost poetic, the bully being put in the position of the bullied.  
>"Look, I know you're going through a tough time right now, so I'm not going to get all high and mighty on you; but just think about how you feel after a couple of months of being bullied, and imagine what she must have felt like after years of that," Mercedes said quietly.<p>

Quinn swallowed hard, guilt washing over her, "How is she not as miserable as I am?" she asked, feeling completely vulnerable.

"Why don't you ask her?" Mercedes pushed, moving her head in the direction of her door.

The blonde laughed sardonically, "Yeah that'll go over well. Hey, Rachel, I'm sorry I've called you names and made it my mission to ruin you life, but since this girl is doing the same thing to me, would you be so kind as to tell me how you dealt with it all these years?"

Mercedes sighed and started to stand up, offering her hand to help Quinn up, "Well you don't have to if you don't want to, but I'm willing to bet she would give you a chance."

"No way," Quinn replied firmly crossing her arms, "I'm not going to give her the satisfaction of seeing me like this."

"It was only a suggestion," Mercedes defended, heading to the door, "like I said it's your decision. Now are you coming or what?"

Quinn sighed, but she followed the girl downstairs to join Kurt and Rachel.

Mercedes was as good as her word, and she let Quinn crash at her place for as long as she needed. Thankfully, Quinn had left some of her old clothes at her house, so she didn't have to go back home to get any. Her mother had texted her a couple of times, but she had yet to respond to any of them. Quinn convinced herself it was because she was too preoccupied with other things (mainly Cameron), but in reality she just didn't want to hear her mother's fake apologies again.

Speaking of Cameron…a bag of popcorn was put in her hand, and she looked up at the boy in question who was smiling expectantly at her.

"I hope this is okay," he said, sitting down in the seat beside her and grabbing a handful of popcorn and munching on it.

"Of course," Quinn assured, as he threw an arm around her.

Cameron had asked her out on a date to the movies, and she agreed almost immediately. She had needed a distraction from all the bad things that were going on in her life.  
>So far, it was actually going well, and she was feeling happier than she had in a while.<p>

"Well well well," Quinn's blood froze and she felt Cameron stiffen beside her.

Katie waltzed into the theater, a smirk plastered on her face as she looked at the two of them.

"And what do we have here?"

"Just leave us alone, Katie," Cameron growled pulling Quinn protectively against himself.

Quinn didn't miss the flash of jealousy in Katie's eyes as she noticed his action, "Careful, Cam," she warned, "you wouldn't want to get on my bad side now, would you?"

"What do you want?" Quinn demanded.

"Nothing," she said in a sing song voice, sitting on the other side of Cameron, "I was just in the area, and I decided to drop by."

"Look, Quinn and I are on a date, so can you go?" Cameron said politely.

Katie scoffed indignantly, "Really, Cameron? I thought you had standards."

"I do," her shrugged, holding back Quinn from slapping the girl, "Quinn's a great girl and I like her."

"Yeah but she's also a huge Bitch," Katie smirked.

"You know what, I don't have to put up with this," Quinn snarled pushing Cameron's arm out of the way and lunging at Katie.

The girl screamed, slapping uselessly at Quinn as she threw her on the ground. Cameron sat still for second, before moving to try to break them a part.

"Hey, hey!" he yelled, grabbing Quinn around her waist and pulling her away from Katie.

"See! She's a menace!" Katie whimpered, clutching her face where Quinn had clawed her.

Cameron ignored her, focusing his attention on Quinn, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Quinn snapped pushing him away from her, "I'm just great, Cameron."

"Quinn, - " he called after her, but she ignored him, grabbing her purse and stalking out of the theater.

**Review! Because it makes me happy and if im happy then story goes faster.**


	7. I Go Back

**Hey Guys, Sorry for the extra long wait. Once again thank you to "Kagekamy" for without her this series would not be possible. She has an been amazing help. Also Thanks to all the readers, the few reviewers and everyone who has put this on alert. You guys are awesome.**

There was a knock at the bedroom door, "Hey Quinn, you up yet?"

When there was no response from the other side, Mercedes let herself in. She found the blond still sleeping in the guest room.

"Hey, Q, You need to get up. You have to get going for school."

"What time is it?" Quinn asked sleepily.

"It's near 7."

Mercedes reached down and pulled back the covers, much to the chagrin of the still half asleep blonde, "I'm not going, I'm taking a sick day" she mumbled.

Mercedes sat down on the edge of the bed and put her hand on Quinn's shoulder, "Quinn, you have barricaded yourself up here ever since you got home Saturday night. What happened, girl?"

"I really don't want to talk about it. I just want to forget it, and the best way to do that is by sleeping."

There's a soft flicker of concern in Mercedes eyes as she meets Quinn's gaze, "Do you want me to stay home with you?" the diva asked in a worried tone.

"No."

"Ok, mama. If you need anything don't hesitate to text," she said, and got up off the bed, calmly picking up her bag and leaving her room to go to McKinley.

Quinn awoke later to the sound of her phone going off. She looked to see who it was and hit ignore after seeing Cam's number on the screen. Five minutes later, he calls again, and this time he leaves a message. Annoyed, Quinn promptly deleted it, not wanting to hear the boy's voice. She was making her way downstairs when her phone started ringing again. She quickly flipped it open and pressed it to her ear.

"Hey, Puck…Yeah I'm still at Mercedes' house…. No I don't want to talk about it…Yeah I wouldn't be opposed to dropping in, it will give me something to do at least. Thanks for calling. Mkay. See you soon."

She pulled up to McKinley and thought how much simpler her life would be if she was able to stay here. She had friends, she was going to be head cheerleader again, she was determined to get the star quarterback on her arm and once again be the HBIC. At Carmel, all Quinn felt was defeated, especially around Katie. It was hard to accept the fact that what she had done had affected Katie to the point where she wanted to destroy her life. It had changed Quinn, but she hadn't realized it until the talk with Mercedes the other night.

Quinn arrived at a time when she knew classes would be in so that she wouldn't have to deal with the multitudes of people in the hall.

Reaching her destination, she put all thoughts of her other school out of her mind and strolled in the classroom, "Hey Mr. Schue, do you mind if I crash Glee Club today?" the blonde asked.

The teacher smiled and got up to hug the girl, "It's nice to see you Quinn, but shouldn't you be in school yourself?"

"I got out early today and thought I'd come and see how rough it is without me."

The teacher let out a small laugh, "Glad to see you still have a sense of humor. To answer your question I have no problem with you sitting in today."

Even though the blonde had expected it, she was still happy at the answer, "Thanks Mr. S, I wanna surprise them though, so do you mind if I head over there before everyone gets out of class?"

The teacher's look went from jovial to concerned, "Well, Quinn, Rachel has a free period and she's using the room to practice. You're welcome to sit here and wait as I know the two of you don't exactly get along."

Quinn had a pensive look on his face, "I think I'll head down there anyways. Berry always loves an audience, and at least that it will be more entertaining than sitting in an empty classroom…No offense."

Again he laughed, "None taken. Well then I'll see you in class."

She finished the short walk from his Spanish class to the glee room, and just stood at the door watching as Rachel belted out the final notes of a song she didn't recognize.

"Well here goes nothing," Quinn thought, and cleared her throat, making Rachel aware of the fact that she had company. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw that the person standing there was none other than Quinn Fabray.

"Hello, Quinn. I was certainly not expecting to see you here today," the tiny brunette said, flashing one of her patented smiles.

"Well would you mind if I sat?" Quinn asked, gesturing towards the piano booth where she was sitting.

"Of course you can. I don't bite despite what Santana may have told people."

Quinn could only wonder what she was talking about. They sat for a moment without speaking but it only got more awkward as the minutes, which seemed like hours to Quinn, went by.

The blonde shifted slightly before speaking, "Look, Rachel. I've got something to say, and against my better judgment I'm gonna to say it. "

"Go on."

Quinn exhaled a long breath, "I have been a total Bitch you…"

Rachel interrupted her, "No more than usual, I thought you were acting well within the parameters of our non relationship and the social hierarchy that is implemented in this school and I'm sure at Carmel High."

"Rachel, I-I'm sorry. Sorry for the names, the slushies. I'm sorry for everything that I've done to hurt you. I know you don't believe me, and I've given you no reason to trust me, but I would really appreciate it if you accepted my apology."

Rachel listened to Quinn pour her heart out in her apology. She didn't want to believe her, but the look in Quinn's eyes while she was talking was one she had never seen from the blonde before. Remorse, regret even. Not to mention she had only seen this girl cry on one other occasion, and that was when she revealed the true identity of her baby's daddy.

"Did you enjoy it?" Rachel asked suddenly, "Did you enjoy being mean to me? I mean you must've because you did it constantly."

"I should've stayed in bed," Quinn stood up but before she could walk away she felt a small hand grab her wrist.

She turned around to face the brunette, "Rach, I can't do this. Talking to you...it wasn't a good idea. In fact it was a big mistake, so just let me go and we can forget about this."

Rachel knew the ice wall that the blonde used to put her feelings behind had gone back up, but she wasn't going to back down now.

"I want answers and I'm not letting you leave until I get some. You wanted to talk so let's talk. First off why?"

"Why what?" Quinn hissed.

"Why should I even accept your apology? As you know I'm a very forgiving person. It's one of the qualities I love most about myself, but there's only so much one person can take before," she was cut off by Quinn apologizing once more.

"Stop apologizing and just tell me why you did it?"

By this point, both girls were standing face to face and were within inches of each other.

"You wanna know why I did it?" Quinn yelled, unleashing the anger in her, "I bullied you because you deserved it…Is that a good enough answer for you?"

After a few seconds of silence, Quinn spoke again "I'm outta here."

She yanked her hand away from the brunette, and wanted nothing more than to get out of this room. She had thought this school would make her feel better, but right now it was making her feel worse.

"Now I know why your such a great athlete, Quinn."

Rachel's declaration stopped the blonde and caused her to return to her former position in front of the other girl sporting a now terrifying glare. Rachel was determined to not back down this time.

"Why's that, Rachel?"

"Because you're always running away from something. Whether it be the truth, or any one of the number of problems you have, you're always running."

"I don't run from my..." Rachel put a hand to her face, "It's rude to interrupt someone, Quinn. As I was saying, you run away from everything. Look at last year, for example. When Finn wasn't treating you right, you ran to Puck, and because of that you got pregnant. When you got pregnant did you bother telling Finn who the real father was? No. You ran away from that problem t  
>May 29th, 12:34pm<p>

hat problem too."

"Don't go there, Berry. I'm warning you right now, drop the subject."

"You ran away from all of your problems last year, which just made them bigger, and then when you had Beth you ran away from that too by giving her up."

Before Quinn had even thought about what she was doing, her hand made solid contact with the side of Rachel's face.

Rachel flinched, and immediately collapsed back down on the piano bench, her mouth finally shut tight as she realized she had gone too far.

"I'm sorry," Quinn said in a meek voice, staring in horror at Rachel's cheek that was quickly turning red.

"No, you have nothing to apologize for. I deserved that. Obviously I knew from prior events that was still a sticky subject for you, but due to my lack of a filter at the moment, and me obviously not heeding your earlier warning, I didn't think what I was saying all the way through, so for that I'm truly sorry, Quinn."

The blonde looked over at Rachel, who was now rubbing the slight bruise on her cheek and said softly, "I don't hate you at all, and to answer your question from earlier, I did it because I was jealous of you."

The tiny diva gave Quinn a confused look, "I was jealous that you were stronger than me. I've done so many horrible things to you in the past, and yet you're still talking to me."

Quinn tried to stop the tears from flowing again, but she knew it was a futile battle so she just let them flow. Rachel stood up and pulled her into a hug with surprisingly no resistance from Quinn.

"I know we're not friends, and I don't know if we will ever be…But if you ever need to talk, then I hope you know that I'm a great listener, and at times people say I even give good advice."

Quinn nodded, "Thanks. I needed this. All of this, including the fight."

Rachel chuckled, "Well if you ever need someone to fight with again….call Santana next time."

Quinn playfully punched Rachel's shoulder as the bell rang, signifying the beginning of the last period of the day…Glee Club

**A/N Had a bad case of writer's block hence what i think is a bad ending. maybe you thought differently. Tell me what you think of the chapter by clicking on the link below and reviewing. Thanks guys**


	8. Somewhere I Belong

**Hey guys, Here is the next chapter. Sorry for the long wait but work kicks my butt. It's my longest chapter yet and alot happens in it. So I hope you enjoy**

Quinn felt at home in the choir room. The awkwardness she had encountered when first seeing Rachel in the room had all but dissipated, and the two of them were sitting in the front row of seats chatting as if they were old friends when the room started to fill up. The first person to arrive in the room was a kid that Quinn didn't recognize. He was as tall as Puck, but he had lighter skin and a blonde Beiber cut. Quinn was shocked when he walked over to Rachel and gave her a quick peck on the lips and then sat down next to her.

"It's not polite to stare Quinn, especially at someone else's significant other," the brunette said jokingly.

Quinn didn't know how to respond to the comment, so all she did was nod. She had been told by Mercedes at the sleepover that things didn't really work out for Rachel and Finn, but she didn't know that she was already in another relationship.

"Quinn, this is my new boyfriend, Sam Evans," she said.

Sam shook her hand, "Oh? Are you the Sam that doesn't like green eggs and ham?" Quinn said with a grin on her face. She had heard Mercedes mention the joke in one of their conversations.

Sam laughed, "Yeah, I guess you can say that," he said with a smile on his face.

It wasn't long before the room had filled with the usual members, all of them stopping to exchange pleasantries with Quinn before finding a seat and talking among themselves. As Finn walked in, he shot a death glare at Rachel and Sam before realizing that Quinn was in the room. When he saw her his eyes went downward and he sulked to a spot in the far corner of the room as far away from the three that he could be.

Brittany and Santana were the last to arrive, "Q, you're back!"

The bubbly blonde let go of the Latina's hand and ran towards Quinn to give her a hug.

"It's nice to see to see you too Brit. I've missed you."

"Yeah it's real nice to see you, Q," Santana added in her best sarcastic voice.

"I haven't been this happy since the day that Santana did that thing with her ton-" Brittany was cut off by Quinn's hand covering her mouth and Rachel speaking, "I really would like to keep that mental image out of my mind thank you."

That's when Mr. Schue entered and walked to the middle of the room, seasonably late as usual, and clapped his hands together, "Okay guys, I know we have to get ready for Sectionals but I have an idea for a project. It's a special one day only project and we will practice for sectionals more tomorrow."

Schue saw the worried faces so he decided to not prolong it anymore, " We are going to have a impromptu singing contest."

Finn interrupted him, "I don't get it, Mr. Schue."

"Well let me explain it to you guys then. I know we have been working hard and I've been pushing you guys to get ready for Sectionals and all, but I thought if we took a break, for one day only, Rachel," he glanced over to her and she gave him a fake smile clearly not happy they were taking time off from practicing, "then it will loosen us up a bit, and who knows we might even find a performance today."

"Well it's not really a fair contest, seeing as how Sam and I are clearly the favorites to win since we are the best singers in the room. So let's get started right away so we can move on to more important things…like what song im going to do at Sectionals."

Mercedes scoffed at her comment before talking, "Who's gonna judge this competition?"

Tina joined in on the questioning next, "How are we supposed to practice for this if it's only a one day thing?"

Puck was last to ask a question, "Plus Lauren is out today so someone will be left out."

"All good question, guys, and I have answers to all of them. First off, I will be picking names from a hat and the two names I pick will be partners, and then I'll do it again for the next pairing until you all have one. One of the members of the pair has to sing about their relationship towards the other."

"Um Mr. Schue, don't you think it will be a little uncomfortable for us guys if we got partnered with another dude?" Puck nodded in agreement.

"No I don't. All of you have sung together before so it shouldn't be a problem. It's up to you to decide which one of you sings the song. The final judgment will be made by Miss Pillsbury, Myself, and Coach Beiste. And to answer your question Puck, we have a special guest today as you all know, and if she's willing to participate, I'm more than happy to let her pair up with someone. What do you say Quinn?"

Rachel elbowed the blonde in the ribs to bring her back to reality, "Hey! Watch where you put those. They could take an eye out," Quinn teased.

Mr. Schue went on, "I was just asking if you would like to take part in our experiment today. We are down one member and need a replacement."

"I'd be honored, I mean I haven't really sung since I quit but it will be fun."

"Shall we get on with the pairings?" The teacher went over to the whiteboard and started listing the pairings as he created them. The class looked on with equal shock and awe as they were revealed.  
>1. Kurt-Brittany<br>2. Puck-Tina  
>3. Sam-Finn<br>4. Santana-Mike  
>5. Mercedes –Artie<br>6. Rachel-Quinn

"Ok guys, you've got till the end of the period to pick a song with your partner and rehearse it the best you can. When the bell rings, head to the auditorium and we will be performing. Time to see who can do the most with the little time they have. Lastly as a added Incentive, the winners get dinner at Breadstix…on me."

After hearing that last statement they all scrambled to get to their partners. The rest of the time in the class was spent with each pairing talking to each other about the song choice and practicing choreography.

The whole class had left for the auditorium, but Quinn had stayed behind. The blonde waited a few minutes until she figured no one would be coming. She took a seat at the piano and ran her fingers along the keys. It had been years since she played the instrument. At the age of five she learned how to play, starting off with something as simple as happy birthday, but by the time she was ten she remembered being so good that she had won the school talent show two years in a row. But then middle school happened, she got popular, and she became a cheerleader and didn't practice as much. When she turned fifteen, her dad sold her piano because he said it was a waste of time, time she could be spending studying. She stared at the piano and her fingers gently played a few random notes. After a couple of bars she started to sing along with the tune she was playing.

_I wanna heal, I wanna feel what I thought was never real_

_I wanna let go of the pain I've felt so long_

_Erase all the pain till it's gone_

Sam, who forgot his guitar, slipped in quietly, unnoticed by Quinn who was absorbed in the song she was now lightly playing on the piano.

_"I wanna heal, I wanna feel like I'm close to something real_

_I wanna find something I've wanted all along_

_Somewhere I belong" _

"That was beautiful."

Quinn turned to face him, a bit surprised that he was standing there, "Rachel never said you played piano."

"That's because she doesn't know. No one knows, and I'd like to keep it that way," Quinn answered, though her tone signaled that was the last thing she would say on the matter.

"Your secret's safe with me. Cross my heart."

There was a silence for a few seconds before Quinn spoke up again, " What has she told you about me?"

Sam made his way over to the bench to sit next to her. His gaze hit the piano contemplating what he should or shouldn't say, "to be perfectly honest, she's told me pretty much everything."

Quinn sat, still engrossed in her thoughts, "but just like Rachel, I believe in second chances " she turned to face him as he took Quinn's hand, "I believe people can change…if they want to. And from what she told me about the conversation you guys had earlier, you seem to want to."

Quinn's eyes had started to tear up, "I never knew how mean, how nasty I was and how much it really hurt her until I left this school and was thrown into her shoes. I know the stuff that's happened to me isn't nearly as bad as what I have done to her, but I do wanna make it right, even if we can never be friends."

Sam pulled her into an embrace as she was now crying into his chest. After a minute of that he picked her head up and wiped the tears from her face with his sleeve, "Look at me," he pushed a strand of her hair out of her face, "Don't beat yourself up. She knows how sorry you are. Just be a friend to her and in time she will forget all the bad things you've did to her."

She smiled at him and leaned in closer as their lips met. It started off light, but Sam could feel the passion in her lips as they continued.

When their lips finally parted Quinn had a disgusted look on her face, "Oh my god, I can't believe I just did that. After all that I've said and done today I screw it up by making out with her boyfriend."

She grabbed her bag and went to stand, but before she could get up and leave her wrist was restrained by the boy sitting next to her, "I don't wanna hurt her either and we both know if she found out that it would crush her."

Quinn knew what he was saying was true. Rachel always wore her heart on her sleeve and disappointment like this would be devastating to her, "Plus I know you didn't mean to do that, you just got caught up in the moment. So this will just stay between us, a secret between friends. Alright?"

Quinn let out a relieved sigh, "Thanks, Sam, you're a good guy. I'm glad Rachel has you looking out for her."

The pair exchanged a hug before heading out to the auditorium.

Quinn made her way to the auditorium and immediately sought out Rachel. Sam and Finn were performing their song, "The Boys of Fall." Finn was singing and Sam was playing guitar. He left Quinn behind, after making sure she was fine, so that he could go do his number with Finn since they were next up. After having no luck of finding her, she walked out one of the back doors of the room.

She spotted Rachel in the hallway pacing and made her way over to her, "Hey Rach-" she was cut off when she felt a cold hard blow to the side of her face which caused the blonde to stumble a bit but she regained her footing.

"What the Fuck, Berry," Quinn snapped and shot her a death glare while rubbing the side of her face, "Why the hell did you just punch me".

Rachel still shaking her hand, trying to make the pain go away, stepped closer to the blonde, "After apologizing and conversing with you some, I thought we had made some progress. I thought you had legitimately changed, and I thought we were on the right track to be friends."

Quinn opened her mouth to respond, but the tiny girl made another fist and put it in her face daring her to speak. When she closed her mouth, the brunette continued, "It was all just another game to you wasn't it. Another opportunity to crush me as you have always been so blindly determined to do? "

Quinn's mouth fell opened at the revelation, "Finn sent me looking for Sam because they were about to perform, and when I arrived at the choir room I was astonished to see my boyfriend, who supposedly loves me more than anything in the world, engaged in a lip lock with the girl who I thought was a friend. I knew you had a propensity for cruelty, Quinn Fabray, but this has undoubtedly propelled you to a new low."

"Rachel, I'm so sorry - "

"Sorry doesn't cut it this time. How could you do this to me! Sam is everything I ever wanted. He's the only one at this school who truly cares for me," tears streaming down her face now, "But you can't stand to see me happy, that's why you made it your life mission to destroy me."

"Rach, I swear, I was caught up in the moment and just kissed him. He stopped it as soon as he realized what was going on. You have to believe me," Quinn rambled, her voice cracking.

The brunette backed up, "I just don't know if I can forgive you this, Quinn. I don't know how to get past what you did."

Quinn straightened up as she pulled her hands from her pockets, "All I'm asking is that you don't give up on me fully. Let me prove to you that I'm worth the effort of being in your life."

Rachel sighed as she lowered her head to look at her hands, "I must go and warm up. I have found a perfect song to covey my true feelings towards you at the moment. And please tell Sam that I don't wish to speak to him at this time and that I will return his personal belongings that are in my possession back to him as soon as possible."

Quinn entered into the auditorium and made her way to where the rest of the kids were seated, but instead of sitting near them she put multiple seats in between herself and everyone else.

"Ok we have one pairing left to sing. Take it away, Rachel"

"I must say a few words before I start, Mr Schue," he nodded and sat down, "As you all know, I'm more of a Broadway girl, but this song perfectly sums up my feeling of hurt and betrayal at my current partner."

She looked out into the audience to see Quinn giving Sam a look that told him that she knew, "Hit it Brad."

She glared at Quinn as she started singing the song.

_You, with your words like knives  
>And swords and weapons that you use against me<br>You have knocked me off my feet again  
>Got me feeling like a nothing<br>You, with your voice like nails on a chalkboard  
>Calling me out when I'm wounded<br>You picking on the weaker man_

Well you can take me down with just one single blow  
>but you don't know, what you don't know...<p>

Someday I'll be living in a big ol' city  
>And all you're ever going to be is mean<br>Someday I'll be big enough so you can't hit me  
>And all you're ever going to be is mean<br>Why you gotta be so mean?

Despite moving around the stage, Rachel kept her glare on the blonde. The combination of the song and the staring was making Quinn quite uncomfortable.

_You, with your switching sides  
>And your wildfire lies and your humiliation<br>You have pointed out my flaws again  
>As if I don't already see them<br>I walk with my head down  
>Trying to block you out 'cause I'll never impress you<br>I just wanna feel okay again_

I bet you got pushed around  
>Somebody made you cold<br>But the cycle ends right now  
>Cause you can't lead me down that road<br>And you don't know, what you don't know...

Someday I'll be living in a big ol' city  
>And all you're ever going to be is mean<br>Someday I'll be big enough so you can't hit me  
>And all you're ever going to be is mean<br>Why you gotta be so mean?

Walking off stage, she sauntered her way over to where Puck was sitting and took a seat on his lap and cast her glare on Sam, sitting two seats away, who was visibly upset at this point.

_And I can see you years from now in a bar  
>Talking over a football game<br>With that same big loud opinion  
>But nobody's listening<br>Washed up and ranting about the same old bitter things  
>Drunk and grumbling on about how I can't sing<br>But all you are is mean_

Quinn had a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach as Rachel was now standing in front of her.

_All you are is mean  
>And a liar, and pathetic, and alone in life<br>And mean, and mean, and mean, and mean_

She then made her way back on stage to finish the song.

_But someday I'll be living in a big ol' city  
>And all you're ever going to be is mean, yeah yeah<br>Someday I'll be big enough so you can't hit me  
>And all you're ever going to be is mean<br>Why you gotta be so mean_?

Everyone applauded and cheered, especially the judges. The brunette bounced up and down, confident she had won for sure. As soon as the song was over, Quinn bolted out of the room and didn't stop until she got to her car. Once inside the confines of her car, she placed her head on the steering wheel and she let it all out as she bawled for the third time.

"Wow, that was really intense Rachel. Since that was our last performance, the three of us will put our heads together and determine a winner. I'll tell you tomorrow in class. Great job everybody."


	9. Confessions

**Here's the Next Chapter. Sorry for the delay**

The next morning, Quinn wasn't the first to wake up.

"Q, glad you decided to finally join the living. My head is gonna split in half I'm telling you," Santana groaned before getting up and heading for her closet. The night before Quinn had went over to the Latina's house and both of them had proceeded to drink until they couldn't feel anymore.

"God! We're never drinking again."

"Oh come on! You say that every time you drink. This could be a blessing in disguise…" Santana started but Quinn cut her off, "I feel like shit, and when did you become a morning person?"

Santana sat down on the bed facing the door, and it appeared that she now was physically fine, showing no effects of the hangover she clearly still had, "I'm not, but I know how to fake it."

She gave Quinn a slight grin, "and I don't know about you, Tubbers, but I gots to get to school. Figgins told me that if I missed anymore days he would be forced to suspend me."

The blonde eyed her friend suspiciously, "Since when do you care what Figgins says?"

"Normally I would go all Lima Heights on him for saying it, but Coach actually agreed with him. She said if I wanted to keep my spot on top, then I have to pass my classes. Pisses me off."

Quinn chuckled at the statement, "Thanks for last night I really needed it. And tell B I'll come see her soon.".

"You should come see her today, at least then you and Berry can fix whatever problem you guys had yesterday."

"Not Happening S."

"Why not? You know the makeup sex is always the best."

"Fuck off."

"There's my Q."

"Later, S. Have fun at school."

Quinn had decided to skip school once again, not wanting to deal with Rachel at one school or Cameron and Katie at the other, in favor of lounging around the house. She had been awake for about an hour and was mercilessly bored, so she decided to go out and take a run. Changing into a pair of gym shorts and a tank top that she had in her overnight bag, she put her hair back into a ponytail and got to work. Quinn set off at a slow pace and continued down the road, past the park, by the street full of stores, winding through the rows upon rows of houses. Running what what Quinn did when she had something on her mind, and today it was Rachel Berry. She had to fix what she did yesterday. She didn't mean to kiss Sam, and if she could she would take it all back. Sam made Rachel happy and vice versa so as soon as she finished her run she would text Rachel.

It had been about an hour since she had finished running, and she was just stepping out of the shower. It usually relaxed her but today she was still feeling an uneasiness in the pit of her stomach knowing what she had to do.

"Fuck it, Let's get this over with," She grabbed her phone, moved to the name that was now labeled Rachel and sent her a text.

Rachel Berry couldn't bring herself to open her phone. She saw the screen that said: NEW TEXT: Quinn Fabray, but she was still mad at the blonde, plus she had a personal rule against texting during class. After waiting about thirty minutes with no reply, Quinn decided to try one last time and sent another text. Rachel, annoyed when she felt her phone Vibrate once again. she looked down the screen now which said 2 TEXT MESSAGES: QUINN FABRAY. She opened her phone, read the previous 2 messages and then sent one of her own. Since she had a free period she felt it wouldn't hurt although she really didn't want to engage in a conversation with Quinn.

RACHEL: How did you get my number?

QUINN: Hello to you too. You gave your number to everyone last year.

RACHEL: Ok, that might be true but why are you texting me.

QUINN: I really wanted to clear the air about yesterday.

RACHEL: I would rather not talk about it. In fact you're lucky I'm even taking part in this conversation with you  
>right now, Quinn Fabray. I am still quite angry with you for what you did.<p>

QUINN: Wow! You ramble even when you text.

RACHEL: You're in no position to joke right now. And if you must then I will insist on ending this conversation

QUINN: I'm sorry. Just teasing.

RACHEL: Well don't, I'm clearly not in the mood, especially when it comes to you.

QUINN: So how are you and Sam

RACHEL: Quinn, I think you already know the answer to that and I are over, no thanks to you. You know for once I thought I found a guy who was trustworthy and loved me and would never cheat on me like Finn did or hurt me like Jesse did.

QUINN: Rach, Sam is a good guy. He told me himself he loves you and I can tell that you love him. Give him another chance.

Rachel snorted indignantly.

RACHEL: Don't call me Rach ever again. That is a privilege I bestow on friends only. You kissed Sam and then decided to hide it from me. I thought our conversation the day before was a turning point. I thought we were actually starting off on a road to being friends. But I see now it was all a ploy.

Quinn was starting to get frustrated with Rachel.

QUINN: I assure you it was not a ploy. It was the real me legitimately trying to be friends with you.

The brunette rolled her eyes at the last text.

RACHEL: Whatever game you're playing Quinn, I would suggest you stop. It's getting quite old and frankly I'm over you.

QUINN: No game, and to tell the truth I'm starting to get a little mad. I understand you don't trust me, and I know that it will take some to gain that trust but damn Berry I've changed and I do care about you.

RACHEL: STOP IT! The only thing you care about is being a **! Which if I may say you have officially perfected that role. Since when do you care? You didn't mind attacking my self esteem daily when we went to school together. You didn't mind throwing slushies at my face or drawing pornographic pictures on the wall of the bathroom. You also didn't seem to mind stealing every guy I seemed to love. Finn, Noah, and now Sam. Do You hate me so much that you don't want to see me be happy.

QUINN: Rachel…I don't hate you. I never have. I thought we were over these issues already.

RACHEL: While it's true we did talk about those issues I don't think they are totally resolved yet. Honestly I don't believe a word you say. Why should I continue to offer friendship when all you do is throw it back in my face?

QUINN: Dammit! Rachel stop being your irritating, annoying self and listen to what I'm ** saying.

RACHEL: Our conversation seems to have come to a end. The bell is about to ring and I must ready myself for the next class. Please do me a favor and delete my number as I do not wish to talk to you ever again. I'm through with you Miss Fabray. Have a nice life.

QUINN: Berry, you don't get to end this conversation.

QUINN: Rachel.

QUINN: God dammit Stubbles, I swear to god when I find you…

The Next Day:

Quinn Fabray strolled through the halls of Carmel High, hardly paying attention to the students bumping or pushing her out of the way trying to get to class. By the way they were acting, you would have never known that this was the same girl who practically ruled McKinley High with an iron fist. She decided that she couldn't skip any more days at Carmel if she wanted to keep her grades up so that she could get a scholarship. Another reason she wanted  
>to come was to talk to Cam. She had pretty much ignored the boy since she walked out on him on their date. She had just finished grabbing a few books when she was body-checked against the lockers causing her to drop her books. She looked up to see Katie giggling and pointing at her as she walked off. Not giving a second thought to the items on the ground, she charged down the hallway and proceeded to shove Katie, with enough force to take her legs out from under her, into a locker.<p>

"What's your childhood trauma?" Katie made her way to her feet to come face to face with her.

All commotion in the hallway had faded and all attention was on the two,"Well I don't know if that little shove gave you brain damage, but if you don't remember it was you. You're my childhood trauma, Q."

"Seriously, what's your deal? Because I'm tired of it."

"What's my deal? You must've really hit your head hard. Maybe you should go see a doctor or something. I wouldn't want you to be any worse off than you already are."

Katie turned to walk away but Quinn grabbed her arm and pushed her back against the locker, "You aren't getting out of this that easy. I had a pretty crappy weekend and so far this week hasn't been much better…" She was cut off by the sound of the other girl chuckling.

"Does baby want a blanket? Maybe I should go get your daddy…or wait he left you didn't he?"

"Normally Katie that might upset me, but I have changed," she grabbed the other girls arm and dragged her into the empty classroom away from the growing crowd the argument had created.

After shutting the door she started again, "Katie, I know what I did to you was wrong and I'm sorry. So can we get past this petty rivalry and…"

Katie interrupted her, "Don't you dare say be friends again. Why would I ever want to be friends with you again? I trusted you, and you not only betrayed me but you also humiliated me in the worst possible way."

Quinn's features got softer as she listened, "Do you know how much money my family spent on getting me better after that, how much therapy I attended? Did you know that I tried to kill myself because of you?" She really didn't know how to respond so she looked at the ground to avoid eye contact, ashamed at what she had done.

"Don't give me your pity Fabray. I don't want it, and before you say anything let me finish. Before I started here I had decided I had enough of being the nice girl, the person I was at McKinley was dead and you along with Lopez killed her. I had to be more like you, I had to be the Queen Bee. So last year I joined the cheerleading squad and was promoted to captain within months and then after winter break I decided to join Vocal Adrenaline to jump into the top rung of the social hierarchy we call high school."

Quinn shifted in her chair, "How come I never saw you either time your group came to McKinley?"

"Didn't I say I was doing the talking? Plus I purposely didn't go because I didn't want to remind myself of the old me."

Quinn grabbed the others girls hand but Katie quickly pulled away, "When I saw on some internet blog that you were moving and would be attending Carmel I thought this was my time to push you around a bit."

She finally pulled out a chair setting it in front of Quinn and sat down running her fingers through her hair, "I never meant for it to go as far as it did the first day we met again, but you have to understand that when you slapped me, I went back to the what you did to me and I snapped. And despite feeling bad about most of it, I couldn't stop because I knew if the situation were reversed you would do so much worse to me."

Quinn glanced at her with a sad look on her face, "Maybe, that's who I used to be, but I'm a different person now. Most of that is because of what you have done to me. You turned me into the victim and made me see how wrong I was for doing what I did. The first day I saw you in that auditorium, I was still mad because I moved and was in a new school and then when you started insulting me, I went back to being the **. It doesn't matter now, though, it's all in the past. I say we just start over"

Katie was taken aback by the last comment, "No offense, Q, but I don't trust you, and honestly I don't know if I ever will again."

The blonde was hurt that this was the second girl in as many days who said she couldn't be trusted, but she didn't let the other girl see her like that, so she put on a fake smile.

Katie stood up but didn't face the blonde, "I will stop making your life hell here, and I'll tell people to back off. But I can't be friends with you. Maybe someday down the road but not right now."

"I understand."

"Good, now before this gets awkward, Q, I'm gonna leave. I gotta get to practice," Katie said before practically prancing towards the door.

After a minute she came back and stopped at the doorway to see Quinn looking out the window clearly deep in thought, "Quinn, I know we aren't friends, but I also happen to know you got a great voice, so I really think you should consider trying out for V.A. and if its Goolsby you're worried about then I'll take care of him."

when she got no reply she continued on her way and left the Quinn to her thoughts, "Well that's one problem down" she thought before leaving the class to finish the rest of her day.


End file.
